The Spirit March threatens sit-in in front of Hadi’s house

Mohammed Al-Samei

SANA’A, Oct. 17 — In a demonstration dubbed “Rooh Al-Thwara” (the Spirit March), Baleegh Al-Tamimi, the head of the Executive Authority at the Revolutionary Council in Taiz, along with protest organizers, called for the abolition of immunity granted to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The demonstration, charged with dozens of vehicles, kicked off in Taiz and eventually found its way to Sana’a on Tuesday evening. The participants protested in front of current President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi’s house, demanding his predecessor be brought to justice.

Al-Tamimi said the Spirit March wants to regenerate the Yemeni revolution that swept the country a year ago. However, Al-Tamimi still thinks revolutionaries suffer due to marginalization and corrupt officials in the local council and other government institutions that have yet to be unseated.

He said the demonstration was staged in order to purge military and security institutions of Saleh’s family and to reclaim resources looted by the former regime.

According to Al-Tamimi, the demonstration was fired upon by armed men in Nakeel Al-Syani District in Ibb and Khidar District in southern Sana’a. No injuries were reported.

Al-Tamimi said he and fellow demonstrators are meeting with leading state figures as of press time. They claim they will stage a sit-in beginning Thursday in front of President Hadi’s house if their demands are not met.